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lex·i·con

(lĕksĭ-kŏn′)

n. pl. lex·i·consor lex·i·ca (-kə)

1. A dictionary.

a. A stock of terms used in a particular profession, subject, or style; a vocabulary: the lexicon of surrealist art.

b. The vocabulary of an individual person: “A few of the women tittered, whether in response to the fluctuating octaves of my voice or the awkwardness of my lexicon” (Elisabeth Brink).

3. Linguistics The morphemes of a language considered as a group.

[Medieval Latin, from Greek lexikon (biblion), word(book), from neuter of lexikos, of words, from lexis, word, from legein, to speak; see leg- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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